Cool Geek of the Week – Addy Dugdale

Gizmodo’s Addy Dugdale is back! Yes, the Chocolaty Diva is here with her yummy answers sprinkled with a truckload of typical Giz wisdom. Feed on it below; we hope it’s enough to nourish your appetite:
1). Carolyn: Addy, being a foodie which futuristic kitchen concept you most wish to turn real – 1). GE's Kithcen of the Future 2). Whirlpool's futuristic green kitchen concept?Addy: The Whirlpool one, I think, although it's a bit small. Could I have a nice professional gas range in it, as well, please, as well as an AGA for the winter months?2). Team: Tell us your experience when you got caught up in a coup d'état in Ecuador? Addy: Back in 2005, I went over there with an ex-editor of mine, who was doing some PR work for the state-run oil company and needed a spanish-speaking journalist for back-up . We flew straight into a coup d'etat, and the boss of the oil company went into hiding. When we arrived, there were soldiers on the street, the Ecuadorian president holed up in the Brazilian embassy with his mistress, crowds of protesters screaming blue murder outside the embassy, and a very panicky ecuadorian businessman who could see his deal going up in smoke. We made it inside the presidential palace to see the new president being sworn in in the most incredible room I have ever seen, amidst crowds of ceremonial soldiers, chattering foreign correspondents and slick-looking government officials. I had a bit of a snoop around the palace, wandering into the First Lady's suite of offices, where I found a burly bodyguard-type reading a dirty magazine. It was the most surreal thing I have ever done. We flew home 36 hours later, and I don't think my boss has ever recovered.
3). Jason: Five things you love about Gizmodo? And, two things you would like to change at Gizmodo?Addy: 1. First of all, the team. All the other writers and editors are great - easy to get along with, always ready with advice when I need it, and they make me laugh. 2. The pace of getting stuff up on the site as quickly as possible. 3. Having a free rein to write posts however I want. 4. Gadgets. This is the first time I've had to write about tech stuff, and a year on, I'm a total convert. I love 'em. 5. A steep learning curve is always a challenge, and I like those. Two things I'd like to change? Firstly, I miss having an office - although it's easy working from home, you do miss human contact sometimes. Um, I can't think of anything else!
4). Nick: What would Addy have been, if not a blogger? Also, how did you become a blogger?Addy: I've only ever worked as a writer, so I'd probably still be doing that in London. Blam, Gizmodo's editor emailed Jesús last year to see if he knew anyone who could do the early shift for them, and he put my name up. Cue panic from me, then I had to set up a blog and do a week's trial. i was hired after three days.
5). Patrick: Your take on Gizmodo/Engadget rivalry?Addy: I've worked on teen mags, music mags, women's mags and gossip rags and there's always fierce competition with your closest rival. It's good, because it spurs you on to try and catch up with them. Ryan Block is a gent, though, and Josh Fruhlinger, the only one of the Engadget team I've met, is cool.
6). Team: Would you please take us to your typical day at work?Addy: Wake up sometime between around 8am and plug straight into my laptop. Eat breakfast, go through the feeds, find stories and write them up--in the case of breaking news, as quickly as I can. We have a web application called Campfire in which we post links to the stories we're going to write about, so that there's no confusion as to who is doing what. We also use campfire to crack jokes, hurl insults, flirt, flatter and threaten the other members of the team. It's the closest we get to an "office" with the editors spread all over Europe and the US. At the moment we have two in Spain, one in Portugal, one in Chicago, four or so in NY, and three on the West Coast, so campfire is indispensable.
In the afternoon I work on features, until I've had enough, then I go for a run. I'm getting very good at multi-tasking, throwing tennis balls for the dog from my bed while I type. I read my emails before I go to bed, and then pass out.
7). Max: You write about gadgets from morning to night, do you consider yourself an expert in this field just like your male counterparts or do you think gadgets are basically men's toys?Addy: I do think that gadget worship is mostly a guy thing, although I do have a wish list of gear I'd like to have (it's mainly Apple stuff, I'm afraid.) We've got a TomTom for the car, but I prefer a road map to some perfectly-enunciated voice telling me to turn left in 400 yards... 200 yards... 100 yards... Turn... Left. Yes, I think I got that, thank you. And, while I'm certainly not an expert, I know my way around gadgets.
8). Gina: Five things you never leave your home without? Addy: Keys, cash and sunglasses. If I'm going for a run, the dog and my iPod.
9). Keith: Your favorite gadget possessions? And, also your wish list for this year?Addy: It used to be my Technics 1210 turntable, but now it's my Nano. I have a love-hate relationship with my MacBook, but that's because I spend most of the day staring at the screen while I bang out my work. My 80GB iPod broke at Christmas, and I'm waiting until there's at least a 64GB version of the Touch. Add to that a 3G iPhone and, when my MacBook dies a quiet death, I might think about an Air, but only if I can have a new iMac. Tragic, isn't it? I switched from Macs to PCs and got a Fujitsu Lifebook, but it was pants. I was so happy when it broke!
10. Stuart: Tell us about the non-geekiest thing you have been caught doing? Or you have never done any? Or you did but would better keep it a secret? Addy: Non-geekiest thing? I guess the myth is that geeks don't dance, so it's probably that, but then I have a very crazy non-geek streak running through me. In my dream house there is a light-up dancefloor, a pair of Technics and a mixer. We've already got a three-foot glitterball just waiting to be suspended from the ceiling.
11). Elle: You are married to a geek so who has the final word when it comes to gadget buys for the home?
Addy: Oh, he does. We haven't bought anything for ages, though - we have a TV-free house (although we have a projector and big screen for movies.)
12). Your pick for the top 5 sexiest male geeks other then your spouse?Addy: What a TERRIBLE question - you've put me in such a difficult position. Can I even think of five geeks? Walt Mossberg, Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer --did I tell you that I am myopic?--Moss from the British version of the IT Crowd (you gotta love a pedant) and Jason Chen.
13). Rhapsody: Your views on BornRich & Instablogs Network ?Addy: I love BornRich, mainly because of the eclectic stuff you feature - anything from weird and wonderful jacuzzis to untouchable yachts. It's about the third blog in my feeds, and I'm always stealing stuff off of it to write up.
RAPIDFIRE ROUND1. Which movie did you watched over and over again when you were young ?
a.) Sound of Music b.) Star Wars c.) Miracle on 34th Street
d.) Mary Poppins e.) Others Addy: The Blues Brothers. I was obsessed with Jake and Elwood.
2. Your most prized possession
a.) Scuba gear b.) DVD collection c.) Wedding Ring d.) Book Library
e.) OthersAddy: Our dog, Jones.
3. If you get a chance to take J on first date all over again, what
food would you order/or have (No home-cooked stuff)
a.) Italian b.) Sea food c.) Mexican d.) Burger and Fries
e.) OthersAddy: Sushi or an absolute uber-gastro blow-out
4.) Another foodie question :) Your favorite food that gets you in the mood
a.) Oysters b.) Sushi c.) Wine d.) Dark Chocolate e.) Other or don`t want to tellAddy: Chocolate. Actually, can I have all of it, please?
5.) Celebrity you'd most like to slap.
a.) Paris Hilton b.) Britney c.) Lindsay Lohan d.) Oprah Winfrey
e.) OtherAddy: Kerry Katona. She's a train wreck British sleb who makes the first three on your list look like canonization material.
6.) Most Weird Celebrity Child Names
a.) Pilot Inspektor - Jason Lee's son
b.) Kingston Rossdale - Gwen Stefani's Kid
c.) Sage Moonblood - Son of Sylvester Stallone
d.) Moxie Crimefighter - Child of Penn Jillette
e.) Destry son of Steven Spielberg
f.) OtherAddy: Pilot Inspektor, I think. Good God, man, what WERE you thinking about? I reckon it's a secret homage to Lee's fellow scientologists John Travolta and Tom Cruise.
7.) Most Bizzare Lyrics - Guys you would never trust to write Hallmark cards
a.) "Lucky that my breasts
Are small and humble
So you don't confuse
Them with mountains"
--Shakira's 'Whenever, Wherever'
b.) "There's an insect
In your ear
If you scratch
It won't disappear"
--U2's 'Staring at the Sun'
c.) "My panty line shows
Got a run in my hose
My hair went flat
Man, I hate that"
--Shania Twain's 'Honey I'm Home'
d.) "Your butt is mine"
--Michael Jackson's 'Bad'
e.) "I don't like cities
But I like New York
Other places
Make me feel like a dork"
--Madonna's 'I Love New York'
Addy: They are ALL abysmal. Shakira's makes me laugh, Bono was obviously having an off day, Shania Schmania, I can relate to Michael Jackson's lyric - who hasn't said that about someone once in their life. But Madonna? D-, see me after school.
Finally, we would like to thank Addy for taking time-out from her ultra-busy schedule to do this interview with us! And, wish her ‘Best of Luck’ for all her future endeavors!